Abstract
BackgroundEmerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a significant public health concern, and early detection and immediate response is crucial for disease control. These challenges have led to the need for new approaches and technologies to reinforce the capacity of traditional surveillance systems for detecting emerging infectious diseases. In the last few years, the availability of novel web-based data sources has contributed substantially to infectious disease surveillance. This study explores the burgeoning field of web-based infectious disease surveillance systems by examining their current status, importance, and potential challenges.MethodsA systematic review framework was applied to the search, screening, and analysis of web-based infectious disease surveillance systems. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases to extensively review the English literature published between 2000 and 2015. Eleven surveillance systems were chosen for evaluation according to their high frequency of application. Relevant terms, including newly coined terms, development and classification of the surveillance systems, and various characteristics associated with the systems were studied.ResultsBased on a detailed and informative review of the 11 web-based infectious disease surveillance systems, it was evident that these systems exhibited clear strengths, as compared to traditional surveillance systems, but with some limitations yet to be overcome. The major strengths of the newly emerging surveillance systems are that they are intuitive, adaptable, low-cost, and operated in real-time, all of which are necessary features of an effective public health tool. The most apparent potential challenges of the web-based systems are those of inaccurate interpretation and prediction of health status, and privacy issues, based on an individual’s internet activity.ConclusionDespite being in a nascent stage with further modification needed, web-based surveillance systems have evolved to complement traditional national surveillance systems. This review highlights ways in which the strengths of existing systems can be maintained and weaknesses alleviated to implement optimal web surveillance systems.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3893-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a significant public health concern, and early detection and immediate response is crucial for disease control
Many online surveillance systems that function based on real-time data have been developed involving a wide range of technologies and data sources to prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases; these systems are continually being added to and evaluated [2]
Numbers of articles identified and web-based surveillance systems further considered Across the three databases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, 4,650 articles were collected, and duplicates were removed within the same database and across the different databases, resulting in 2,080 articles
Summary
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a significant public health concern, and early detection and immediate response is crucial for disease control These challenges have led to the need for new approaches and technologies to reinforce the capacity of traditional surveillance systems for detecting emerging infectious diseases. Traditional passive surveillance systems typically rely on data submitted to the relevant public health authority by various healthcare providers [3] This process is often expensive and inefficient, as substantial delays between an event and notifications are common, resulting in an incomplete account of disease emergence. Such limitations of traditional surveillance systems are a shared concern worldwide
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